In Graev v. Commissioner, the Tax Court decided whether the taxpayers' donations of a facade easement and cash contributions were conditional gifts and therefore dis-allowable as charitable deductions under the requirements of the regulations. In this article,...

Last week, we posted Michael S. Mountanos v. Comm'r in which the IRS successfully denied carryover deductions for a rancher's conservation easement. Writing for Forbes, Peter J. Reilly offers his take on this interesting ruling.

In a letter to House member Michael Capuano, [D-MA], the IRS has clarified the deductibility, valuation and substantiation of the charitable contribution of an easement under the federal Historic Preservation Tax Incentives Program.

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 significantly increases the deduction for donations of conservation easements for 2006 and 2007 and tightens the availability of deductions for facade easements. In this article from Leimberg Information Services, Boston attorney Joan...

IRC section 170(h)(1) provides an income tax charitable deduction for qualified conservation contributions of real property. In this article, University of Baltimore School of Law professor Wendy C. Gerzog discusses two recent tax court decisions that contrast how...

"The rotten apple injures its neighbors," so Chaucer once said. In this comprehensive article, Boston attorney Stephen J. Small notes that a small number of "bad" conservation easement deals threaten to poison the well for otherwise successful, appropriate, and...

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Define: Conservation Easement

A conservation easement is a deeded transfer of an interest in real property to a qualified charity for the purpose the preservation of land areas for outdoor recreation by, or the education of, the public; the protection of a relatively natural habitat of fish, wildlife, or plants, or a similar ecosystem; or the preservation of open space (including farmland and forest land) where such preservation is for the scenic enjoyment of the general public, or under a clearly delineated federal, state, or local conservation policy and will yield a significant public benefit. The conservative easement allows owners to retain other private property rights and to live on and use their land. The easement creates a legally enforceable land preservation agreement between a land owner and a government agency. The restrictions of the easement run with the land and are binding on all future owners of the property.